During the first quarter of fiscal 2009
(April to June), JICA (President Sadako Ogata) signed a total of 46 grant
agreements.

Key details of two of the major projects
are provided below. A complete list of the first quarter grant agreements
is provided in the appendix.

2. The Philippine government has set
poverty reduction as an important element in their mid-term development
plan. As a key part of their policy on poverty reduction, they are implementing
regional agricultural land reforms to improve the lives of small farm owners
and tenant farmers.

As the second semester of 2008 begins, the World Food Programme continues to focus its attention on the more than 81 million beneficiaries requiring food assistance. The total cost of 2008 activities is just over US$4.78 billion. Considering carry-over stocks and resources mobilized so far in 2008, and considering US$1 billion for prepositioning of food stocks for 2009, the total shortfall at this time of the year is US$2.71 billion.

"The number of people threatened by
natural disasters had increased by three times over the last 30 years and
the number of people affected by natural disasters doubled every 10 years.
Tens of millions of people had been affected this year by floods in countries
all over the world. The link between the increase in disasters and climate
change, which had been predicted by scientists, was unmistakable. Also,
more people were now living in exposed areas. Some of the biggest cities
in the world were built in disaster zones.

As the end of 2007 nears, the number
of people the World Food Programme is seeking to support has risen to 83
million. The amount of food assistance required to assist these people
is valued at US$3.4 billion. Considering resources mobilized thus far in
2007, the current level of funding falls short by some US$653 million.

Additional resources amounting to approximately
US$800 million are required before the end of 2007 to ensure uninterrupted
food aid deliveries for ongoing activities.